


You Must Be This Tall

by Ray_Writes



Series: Ryan's Height [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 06:57:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16697599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_Writes/pseuds/Ray_Writes
Summary: Only Ryan can help when the Doctor runs into a small snag on their latest trip.





	You Must Be This Tall

**Author's Note:**

> Thought I'd just post the second little one I've written for this idea since I had it ready to go. If you all have any other ideas/headcanons/prompts about Ryan's height, feel free to send them my way and I'll write up a drabble!

Ryan trailed along at the back, keeping his head down and his eyes half-closed. It was easier that way.

He’d not been to a lot of amusement parks, and definitely not to any in space. But here they were, on some planet where the people towered above even him by a few feet or so. The Doctor said it had something to do with the good soil the plants grew in here.

He liked it well enough, even if the lights could be a bit overwhelming. The noise wasn’t so bad. He could handle loud music and such just fine, even liked it when it was his own stuff.

Up ahead, the Doctor was leading them all through the crowds, chattering to Yaz about the ride they were all headed for.

“It’s the biggest, thrillingest coaster in the twelve galaxies. I’ve wanted to go on it for ages!”

Ryan hadn’t decided yet if he wanted to. Coasters weren’t so bad. It was just sitting, and he could close his eyes if he had to. But would that just look weird?

If he begged off, it’d probably make Graham happy. Give him an excuse to sit out, too.

They reached the coaster before he’d made up his mind. The Doctor marched up towards the line, but a long arm reached out of the booth at the entrance, stopping her.

“I’m sorry, little girl, but it looks like you don’t meet our height requirement.”

“What?” The Doctor staggered back a couple steps, and looked around. They all spotted the little wooden sign eventually with its marker for the minimum. Of the four of them, Ryan thought he might be the only one who made it, and he’d have to stand by it to check.“Oh, you’re kidding. I can’t be too small! I haven’t been too small in centuries.”

“Guess that’s me out, too,” Yaz remarked, taking a step back.

“Sorry, Yaz, I should’ve realized. Oh, I should have come here in my last body. Then I could’ve laughed when they stopped Nardole instead.” The Doctor’s nostalgic mood vanished just as quickly as it tended to come as her face scrunched up. “But who knows when I’ll be here again! It could take me another millennia to make the trip! And what if I’m never tall enough!”

Graham cleared his throat and stepped up to the counter. His chin only just cleared it. “Look, can’t you just make an exception for her? She knows how to handle herself.”

“I’m sorry, young man—” the attendant began in a patronizing voice.

“Young? Hang on, how old do you think I am?” Graham demanded. Ryan had to fight down a laugh.

“It’s not her fault, Graham. We look like children to her because we clearly haven’t finished growing yet,” the Doctor explained tiredly. She half-turned away from the booth. “Well, here’s hoping for the next body. Sorry, team.”

“One moment,” said the booth attendant. She looked over the Doctor, Yaz, and Graham’s heads. In fact, she was staring right at him. “Is she with you, sir?”

Everyone turned to follow the attendant’s gaze to Ryan, who blinked.

“Yeah.”

The attendant smiled. “Well, then if you are accompanying her, she is allowed on the ride.”

“Oh.”

The light was back in the Doctor’s eyes as she stared back at him with hope and excitement.

Looked like it was time to decide, then. Ryan glanced up at the track as the line of cars raced past over their heads. Everyone was screaming.

Then he looked back down at the Doctor, still eyeing him with barely restrained pleading.

He breathed in and out once. “Guess we’ll go.”

“Yes! Oh, thank you, Ryan, you are  _ amazing! _ ” The Doctor leapt in the air and clapped her hands. Then she seized his arm and pulled him along to join the waiting line. “This is gonna be ace, I promise!”

“Ta, we’ll wait here for you,” Graham called after them. Yaz gave a wave that seemed to say ‘good luck’.

Ryan nodded back at them and turned back round to face forward. Best to start focusing.

“—then it’s supposed to loop upside-down, but the tunnel is in zero gravity so you sort of float,” the Doctor was saying. “Good, right?”

“Right.”

The smile froze on her face for a moment, and her head tilted to the side. “You’ll be alright?”

It was just a coaster. He’d been on ones before. This one sounded proper awesome, too. And the Doctor couldn’t go on without him. So Ryan nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for checking.”

She squeezed his arm, smile turning up a bit brighter. “We’ll do it together.”

Ryan grinned back. “Alright.”


End file.
